NATIONAL TEAM ANNOUNCEMENTS

Cycling South Africa announces the road cycling squad that will be participating in the 2015 Confederation of African Cycling Road Cycling Championships, taking place in Wartburg, KwaZulu-Natal, from 9 to 14 February.

The final team will be announced from the listed squad at the SA National Road, Time Trial and Para-cycling Championships from 3-8 February. Only eight of the ten selected Elite and U23 squad members will be selected to compete; four of the six Junior Men will be selected to compete; and four of the selected six Elite Women and Junior Women will be selected to compete.

It will be the first time that South Africa will be hosting the prestigious African Continental Championships, which has predominantly been hosted by the Northern African countries in the past. Interest in the event has been strong, with 26 African nations entered for the event.

The three days of time trial and three days of road racing will follow immediately after the South African Road Championships in Mbombela, providing a key fortnight opportunity for elite road cyclists to test themselves and earn crucial Olympic qualifying points for their federation in the process.

Louis Meintjes will lead the strong national team with the Team MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung riders set to put in a strong performance in the Team Time Trial. Team MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung’s recent wildcard entry into this year’s Tour de France has highlighted South Africa’s talent on the global cycling stage. Strong focus will be placed on Jayde Julius as one of South Africa’s UCI Africa Tour contenders for the season with the National Federation wanting to garner as many UCI points as possible. Cycling South Africa’s goal is to qualify as the number one team on the continent and to have enough UCI points to send a strong team to the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Cycling South Africa

Cycling South Africa is the governing body of cycling in South Africa and is a member of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). It is affiliated to the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) as well as the Department of Sport & Recreation. Cycling South Africa regulates the five major disciplines within the sport, both amateur and professional, which include: Road Cycling, Mountain Biking, BMX Biking, Track Cycling and Para-Cycling. Cycling South Africa’s “2020 Vision” strategy, to cater for both the elite cyclist as well as the everyday two- and three-wheel lovers, contributes to the organisation being a dynamic, successful and highly respected governing body of cycling, at both National and International level. Cycling South Africa is committed to transformation and development of the sport and making it accessible to all via its development programmes.